Amazon Prime Video and Supari Studios celebrate Diwali with a dose of nostalgia and bonding

Amazon Prime and Supari Studios took a different route from most Diwali commercials and integrated the magic of creative storytelling in its new ad for Amazon Prime video. Through the eyes of a grandmother and granddaughter, the film highlights the importance stories hold in our lives.

The video starts with a young girl in her mid-20s narrating a magical story, using quirky puppets and interesting storytelling devices. At a point in the story, she goes back, remembering how it was once told to her by her grandmother, on yet another Diwali day, many years ago. The film ends with the realisation that the tables have now turned and the listener has now become the storyteller, trying to rekindle old memories of a grandmother, which are slowly fading away. To enhance the impact of this storytelling, the Supari team very uniquely blended live-action with animation, along with seamless camera movements and transitions, transporting its viewers into a different world altogether. This heart-warming film, filled with ample doses of nostalgia and heart, aims to stay true to the Diwali spirit of family bonding and simple pleasures.

Misha Ghose

Misha Ghose, Director, said, “For us, this film was an exciting journey that we were allowed to take with our protagonists. The film is about bringing alive the magic of storytelling, which we wanted to be as creative and memorable as possible; so we used puppets, animation and cardboard cut-outs and then tried to weave it into the story as seamlessly as we could. Of course, the process was quite complicated; we had to sync a 10-foot movable backdrop with lights changing and a puppet reacting, and get all our match cuts that allowed us to move into the animation world perfectly. Getting the whole timing right was crucial and extremely challenging. Overall, our hope was to be able to take the viewer through a journey that was both magical and heart-warming. I think Diwali is a great time to remember how important some memories and relationships are and I’m glad we got to make this kind of Diwali film.”

Manoti Jain

Manoti Jain, Executive Producer, Supari Studios, said, “The advertising sector has become increasingly cluttered in the recent past, and brands are looking for fresher and more creative routes to connect with their target audiences. For their Diwali campaign, Amazon Prime Video wanted to steer clear from the cliché Diwali advertisements, and instead emphasise on the joy that storytelling brings into our lives, which is symbolic of their brand. While conceptualising the film, we decided to retain certain integral elements of Diwali, such as the ‘good versus evil’ narrative and family bonding, while showcasing them in a more unique manner. With storytelling being our primary focus, we turned a simple exchange between a grandmother and her granddaughter into a magical, larger-than-life experience, by integrating a variety of distinct treatment styles into the very same story. Working with Amazon was a great experience, since they were looking to push the boundaries of creative storytelling, much like we were, and we're looking forward to more such collaborations with them in the future.”

Aditya Tawde

Aditya Tawde, Head, Post Office, said, “The most interesting aspect of working on the film was amalgamating live action, 2D animation and storytelling with a puppet seamlessly into a single narrative. While conceptualising the characters and backdrops for the animation portions, we had to ensure that they could be well replicated in the other forms of storytelling as well. We also designed our frames in a way that gave them an international feel, while retaining Indian characteristics and elements in the design. The animation was given vintage filters and made with a colour scheme that invoked a sense of warmth and nostalgia, keeping in mind that it was an exchange between a grandmother and her granddaughter. It was great to finally see all these aspects come together so beautifully in the final film.”

The campaign:

Credits:

Client: Amazon Prime Video

Conceptualised and Produced: Supari Studios

Director: Misha Ghose

Executive Producer: Manoti Jain

DOP: Siddharth Vasani

Creative Team: Akshat Gupt and Mohit Bhasin

Writing Team: Sanmik Cardoz, Richa Rungta, Ankush Salaria

Creative Producers: Ria Concessao, Richa Rungta

Senior Associate Producer: Madhura Bhasker

Associate Producer: Saloni Dukle

First Assistant Director: Sanmik Cardoz

Second Assistant Director: Feroz Ahmed

Line Producers: Karan Hinduja, Kunal Gurnani (Shutterplay Media LLP)

Gaffer: Vicky

Focus Puller: Gagandeep

Assistant DOP: Nitin Dhar

Art Director: Viveka Banja

Art Assistant: Shivani Shilotri

Casting Director: Swapnil Mishra, Neha Bhatter

Costume Stylist: Mansi Patel

Assistant Stylist: Rozy Agarwal

Hair and Make-Up: Tarsha Khorana

Assistant Hair and Make-Up: Angela

Camera Equipment: 1 Stop Cine Digital

Lighting: One Stop Services

Post Production: Post Office

Creative Head: Aditya Tawde

Animators: Harsh Sharma, Shikha Sharma, Pratik Satam, Hiren Gamre, Neekhil Dighe, Shanel Moraes

Illustrators: Pankaj Gole, Adarsh Panicker

Editor: Sarang Aigalikar (Noise Studios)

Colour Grade: Daniel Schmid (Nube Studios)

Music: Rahul Pais and Nariman Khambata (The Jamroom)

Musicians: Joell Mukherjii, Jitendra Harisingh Thakur, Tapas Roy

Sound Engineer: Richard Francis

Sound Studio: Island City Studio

Voiceover: Sneha Suresh

Spot: Ilyas Bhai, Mane Ji, Aarif Ji

Actors: Padmini Sardesai, Anandita Pagnis, Zenia Shastiker

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